Keegan Murray Ceiling

[LosBreezy]

The biggest knock on Keegan heading into the draft was his ceiling. Him being the oldest guy in the top 5 (he’s only 21). Point is everyone was saying his ceiling was relatively low especially compared to the top 5. Kings got crucified for passing on Ivey and selecting Keegan. After watching him play, it’s looking like Sac definitely made the right pick. I understand it’s only summer league but he was by far the best player. Dropped 29&7 with 4 steals last night against Chet. It was his 5th 20 point outing in 6 games. He put up 22&7 on 50/40/84 for the summer league. Such a smart player. High basketball IQ and plays extremely composed. Elite shooter and pretty solid defender. Just let’s the game come to him. Doesn’t force anything. Has to work on his handles for sure. What do you guys think of this kid? What is his ceiling and who can you most compare him too? He reminds me a lot of Paul Pierce.

[SNPA]

High.

[Duffman100]

Were they crucified for it? I thought people liked the pick.

[BlackThought]

Not sure about his ceiling but the closest comparison would be Tobias Harris and Franz Wagner I think. Not sure how good his defense will be against nba players but his offensive package will make him a solid player.

[bstein14]

You heard the same thing with Haliburton... being a lower ceiling guy for being a bit older and not a great athlete... But Haliburton is a high IQ, good shooting, takes care of the ball type PG with all-star potential.

As far as Murray goes, I said all along his worst case scenario with a slightly below average starter, and his ceiling was likely a borderline all-star maybe even someone that makes a few but that I didn't think he had top 10 player in the league potential. Like I doubt he's your #1 guy potential but possibly a very solid #2.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

I’m really impressed with this kid. I will definitely be cheering him on during the season except when he play my Magic team. I wish the Kings forum was a lot busier because I would like to keep up with him.

[BoogieTime]

First, Paul Pierce isnt the comparison, he's a big. I'm not sure what the comparison is, he's unique

[BoogieTime]

Were they crucified for it? I thought people liked the pick.

Oh, they were. National media didn't like it at all. There was the typical bash-the-kings thread about it on the GB as well

Ivey had made it to consensus 4, and then tie that in to the Kings bucking it..

[JB2]

If it wasn't for hating Mike Brown, I'd start to assume the Kings were doing things the right way because Murray looks like the real deal.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Were they crucified for it? I thought people liked the pick.

Oh, they were. National media didn't like it at all. There was the typical bash-the-kings thread about it on the GB as well

Ivey had made it to consensus 4, and then tie that in to the Kings bucking it..

National media was thrown for a loop in this draft. Orlando got a lot of flax for taking Banchero also. Don’t even worry about them. The season will play out and I hope all teams are happy with their rookie.

[RookieStar]

His ceiling is the roof ( someone got the reference right?)

BTW Keegan had his measurements taken right? Is he really 6'8 barefoot?

Anyway before we won the lotto, i was hoping we were his landing spot in the 4-6 range. I think he can be Rashard-lite.

I will hold off predictions though until he faces real defense with players taller faster and longer than him in his position ( hence i asked of his real measured height )

[celticfan42487]

So it's interesting, you're never impressed with his physicals in a WoW factor but they're more than enough for the NBA to get the job done.

Then by the end of the game you've seen him do a post move, contact layup, steal, set shot 3, 3 off a screen, stop and pop mid range, post fallaway.

He's just a very polished scorer. He'd have a lot of attention if he had wow factor with his physicals but I get why the OP mentioned Paul Pierce. Outside of his first 5 years or so when he got bigger and slowed down in his prime years he never had wow dunks but by the end of the night your entire team was destroyed on offense by him and in a wide variety of ways.

[xBulletproof]

As a Pacers fan I see some Danny Granger.

Same size, similar skill sets.

[atlantabbq99]

His middle could be John Collins. His ceiling could be Carmelo.

The big question will be his defense. If he ever dedicates himself to his defense and become elite on the defensive end, he could be top 10 player and be another Kawhi.

[MrBigShot]

Possibly controversial but I don't agree he looked like the best player. Ivey dropped 31/8/6 in 34 mins of play iirc. He was running the other team off the floor like they were high schoolers before someone undercut him. Much better equipped than Murray in terms of defensive tools.

There's nothing wrong with insinuating other guys at the top of the draft have a higher ceiling than Murray. Some of the other guys in the top 5 have fantastic physical tools and upside. Murray is a mediocre athlete with a below average handle. Despite that, Murray looks to be the most NBA ready player in the draft and will almost certainly contribute right away. He's got as good a shot as anyone at RoY.

Did they make the right pick? We'll find out 3-4 years down the line. Nobody knows if X team made the right pick right now because it's too early to judge.

[whitehops]

i really liked murray as a prospect when i was doing my pre-draft research. pretty much i was okay with taking whoever was available at 5 between murray and ivey but preferred murray a bit more.

i think the one thing that will really determine his ceiling is how he is able to develop his ball handling. i really like his shot and he has the ability to shoot on the move. with improved ball handling, he'd be able to add shooting off the dribble to his arsenal. with improved dribbling he'd also be able to initiate plays and use the threat of his scoring ability to open up things for the offense.

if i had to say now, i'd say his ceiling is tatum-lite (if he REALLY improves his ball handling) but i think he'll settle in as a high-end role player/tertiary offensive player.

it's a shame their timelines won't really sync up but the warriors were apparently drooling over murray. iowa ran a similar movement offense to GSW and they loved his IQ and ability to score which would've been perfect for him. it would alleviate most of the pressure to create his own offense and could just use his savvy and scoring ability to fill it up.

[knicksfan974]

He reminds me a bit of Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

[BoogieTime]

Possibly controversial but I don't agree he looked like the best player. Ivey dropped 31/8/6 in 34 mins of play iirc. He was running the other team off the floor like they were high schoolers before someone undercut him. Much better equipped than Murray in terms of defensive tools.

There's nothing wrong with insinuating other guys at the top of the draft have a higher ceiling than Murray. Some of the other guys in the top 5 have fantastic physical tools and upside. Murray is a mediocre athlete with a below average handle. Despite that, Murray looks to be the most NBA ready player in the draft and will almost certainly contribute right away. He's got as good a shot as anyone at RoY.

Did they make the right pick? We'll find out 3-4 years down the line. Nobody knows if X team made the right pick right now because it's too early to judge.

And a much worse defender by college metrics. "tools" don't make defense.

[SNPA]

He is a combo of the two names mentioned here.

Danny Granger/Shareef Abdur-Rahim

[TravisScott55]

Carmelo